The Division III Presidents Council, already anticipating a light legislative load at the 2010 Convention, will be looking during its meeting this week to also limit the number of proposals that will be decided by roll-call voting.

The Council, in its effort to enhance presidential leadership in Division III, has discussed creating a “presidential grouping” of legislative proposals that is more narrowly focused on strategic, rather than administrative, concepts. It will make its inaugural effort to do so this week as it reviews the nine proposals – including two measures sponsored by member conferences – slated for consideration at the Convention.

The Council will meet Thursday.

That presidential grouping is certain to include at least one proposal – an amendment to the Division III philosophy statement that also is meant to support the presidential-leadership initiative. Approval of the proposal will express for the first time Division III’s expectation that institutional presidents and chancellors have “ultimate responsibility and final authority for the conduct of intercollegiate athletics programs at the institutional, conference and national governance levels.”

The Council will review each of the seven legislative proposals it is sponsoring at the Convention, as well as two conference-sponsored proposals that the Division III Management Council endorsed last week, and decide whether any of those measures also should be included in the presidential grouping for a roll-call vote. It also will consider whether to support, oppose or take no position on the conference-sponsored proposals.

Also during the meeting, the Council will review the status of work on the Division III strategic communications platform, its other top strategic priority this year along with the presidential-leadership initiative. The platform will be a major focus of attention at the upcoming Convention.

Council members will discuss results of three conference calls to discuss the platform with its Presidents Advisory Group, four pilot presentations with selected conferences, three conference calls scheduled to share the platform with the division’s presidents and chancellors in November and December, and further outreach efforts with the broader membership that will occur before the platform formally is released at the Convention. 

The Council also will receive results from the two-year drug-education and testing pilot program that was conducted through the end of the 2008-09 academic year at approximately 100 Division III institutions. Results of the pilot program are expected to be released to the membership in early November. The pilot program’s results also will be a discussion topic at the Atlanta Convention.

Council members also will review details of the voluntary academic reporting pilot program they approved earlier this year to explore the possibility of calculating graduation and academic-success rates for Division III student-athletes. The two-year pilot program will collect data from volunteering institutions beginning in spring 2010.

A report of Presidents Council actions will be published Friday in the online NCAA News.